Destinies: The Great Shinobi World War
by NikolasdaBrave
Summary: Throughout the existence of the way of the shinobi; war and conflict has always been one constant element present. It had built and destroyed great lands and villages, driven different races to sacrifices untold, defined ideals, and altered lives beyond perception. However, this was the one war that would forever alter the balance of power in the Elemental Nations for all time.
1. Prologue: History Re-Told

**Hey everyone, sorry I've been inactive for a long time. My Quarterly Exams just finished and while I was taking my exam in Soc Sci, I thought of this! Anyway, to those who want to know when I'll update the Black Sorcerer, maybe sometime this month.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. It is owned by Masashi Kishimoto.**

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"The Great Shinobi World War was often referred to as the Grand-Scale War." Said the red-headed teacher up-front as the class of aspiring shinobi-to-be jotted down their notes in their respective notebooks on one of shinobi history's most important events; listening intently to the instructor who continued to delve into their rich history of bloodshed. The sounds of pens and pencils scratching paper filled the room as they continued to jot down word-per-word that came out of the instructor's mouth.

"It was to be the war that would end all wars. Loyalty to one's village, economic rivalries, the alliance system, and the arms race were four of the most significant factors that provided the impetus for the carnage that was to be The Great Shinobi World War." The red-haired teacher said, a dainty hand holding open a book that rested on her palm. It was leather-bound and was rather worn-out, looking as if it had been around much longer than the teacher herself.

"Now, if one person were to analyze the events that led to the outbreak of the Great War, one would realize that the gears of war started to turn from the assassination of Sunagakure's Yondaime Kazekage, Sabaku Rasa, who was famously known for his use of the golden dust." The instructor read on. She closed the book and looked towards her class. "Of course, the events that led to his assassination are just one of the topics we will be covering this semester."

The class nodded with rapt attention, all their focus directed towards the teacher in-front of them. While many of them had heard the story of the Great Shinobi World War from their parents, not many of them knew the details pertaining to said event. The way their parents described one of the bloodiest events to occur in their history was that it was a world filled with strife, suspicion and paranoia; village leaders and underground organizations constantly tipping the scale of balance of the already fragile peace that was formed between the villages of that time to the point it teetered over the edge.

While the event happened about a century ago, the scars and wounds that the war left still made their mark on the consecutive events that followed the Great War. The effects still made a lasting impression on many of the shinobi that now served their respective villages and states. It was an impression that was made to last; construct from the horrors that filled that war-riddled world.

"Now," their sensei up-front coughed to get their attention. "Compared to first three Shinobi Wars, they were miniscule in comparison to the Great Shinobi World War. The reason for all the nations going to war and the assassination of Sabaku Rasa was, as devastating as it was, was loyalty to one's village."

A student raised her hand from the back. "Sensei, why loyalty? I mean, of course that loyalty to the village is an absolute must, but to that extreme?"

The red-head instructor made a mental note to add recitation points in the grade of the student, Uchiha Kigome, if she remembered right. She nodded towards the aforementioned student.

"Yes, while loyalty is still required up until this point, back during those days; the peace that they had was much more fragile than what we have today." She explained. "They didn't have the options that we now possess just because of the refusal to listen to reason."

Seeing the still confused look on her students' faces, she sighed.

"Loyalty is a requirement that must be met by all shinobi; there is no dodging that immutable fact to our way of living." She spoke, her tone crystal clear and monotonous. "However, loyalty back then was valued as the highest as even a simple betrayal could cause an outbreak of war; which eventually did happen."

"Why?" a student voiced their question.

"Shinobi know the inner workings of their respective villages. If even an inkling of the information were to be heard by an opposing village, it would put not only the village, but everything that resided in it in great jeopardy." The red-head explained. "Keep in-mind that the villages at that point in time were very volatile and prone to violence. It stems from a legacy of hatred that started ever since the Founding Era of the first villages. Villages would battle for dominance over another, sacrificing soldiers for the sake of protecting their village's pride and honor."

"But sensei, what would they have to gain from it all?"

She nodded in silent approval of her students. "Remember that during those times, the borders of every state and village were not absolute. A rival village could take another's territory provided the means necessary. The more victories that their shinobi would win, the more resources and spoils of war they would gain."

The class nodded in understanding.

"Now back to the topic," the red-head cheerfully stated, turning her attention back to the blackboard, a piece of chalk in her hand. "Compared to the first three wars, the Great War differs in terms of what events and goals set things in motion. Some villages went to the extremes, others were lax. However it all started after the end of the Third Shinobi War wherein all villages were still recuperating from said war; Konoha even more so after the attack of the Kyuubi, having us loose the Yondaime, one of our most gifted shinobi, in the process. It also began with the betrayal of Orochimaru of the Sendetsu no Sannin and the attempted coup d'état of the Uchiha Clan, which would later lead to the event known as the Uchiha Massacre that would set a chain of events moving towards arguably the most catastrophic war that the world has seen, barring the Second Great Shinobi World War which was even more destructive than the first."

She coughed from her dry throat. Taking a sip from the bottle of water on her desk, she continued. "It was after the Kyuubi attack and the attempted betrayals of Orochimaru and the Uchiha that events started to spiral out of control. The villages had heard of our weakening strength as at that time, Konoha was known as the greatest of the Hidden Villages. Our military was now weakened from the loss of the Uchiha Clan and the desertion of one of the strongest shinobi the village had ever produced, Orochimaru. We don't even include the losses we suffered from the Kyuubi attack and the loss of the Fourth."

"Many sought to remove our village from the arena of competition permanently. However, the event the arguably truly caused the Grand-Scale War was the Hyuuga Kidnapping that was attempted by Kumogakure no Sato when they tried to establish a peace treaty with us."

A student raised a question. "But sensei, if they were here to establish a peace treaty, why would they kidnap one of the Hyuuga?"

The teacher responded in kind. "You see, there was a loophole in the treaty that Kumo had exploited. Their plan was that if they could kidnap one of the Hyuuga, preferably an unmarked one, before the signing of the treaty could be finished; they would have in no way violated the treaty and the village (Konoha) would be unable to do anything to retaliate as they would have already been bound by the treaty."

Silence filled the classroom before the red-headed instructor spoke once again. "It was after the Hyuuga kidnapping event that things truly started to go downhill. Suspicion and fear filled the air of each village after the attempt of Kumo at attaining a Kekkai Genkai from an opposing village. It was at this point that Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage and the Kami no Shinobi at that time and with the help of his former teammates Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura and Shimura Danzo, created and drafted the war plan that was known to the ones in the know as Keikaku Seifuku Shimasu."

"Keikaku Seifuku Shimasu?" a student inquired.

The red-headed teacher nodded. "Yes, at that time, Konoha was at a much weakened state and the leaders of the village of that time knew that the peace that followed the Third War was basically a temporary ceasefire. And the only nation that could disrupt that peace at that time was Iwagakure no Sato."

"Why?"

"Iwa was bitter at their loss in the Third War at the hands of Konoha, or more specifically; the Kiiroi Senko, Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage." Explained the red-head. "The fact that the Yondaime basically handed us victory during the Third Minor War with his Hiraishin no Jutsu and slaughtered over half of Iwa's forces was what made their hatred for us even greater than it already was."

A student raised their hand in inquiry. "Why does it seem like you know from personal experience; like you were actually there?"

All eyes turned towards the instructor up-front in curiosity and wonder.

The red-head teacher sighed and let out a small chuckle. "Well, it would classify as a lesson. So I guess it won't hurt to tell you all."

The class erupted in murmurs and gasps of wonder. All attention was now solely focused on their instructor who looked towards her class with eyes filled with mirth.

"I guess," she said, closing her book and placing it down on the table. Re-focusing on the class once more, she spoke "I should start from the beginning; the real beginning. From where it all started…"

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 **And done for the prologue!**

 **Thank you to all those who support my writings despite my being a novie! Pls leave a review and what you think I can improve on.**


	2. Prologue (Part 1)

**I'm sorry I left this story unattended for so long. I have a busy schedule. Well, I hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, all rights go to Masashi Kishimoto.**

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 _The two titans of power, overlooking the rest of the world, stood atop their respective crests; fowl scowls etched across their features as they looked at each other with such loathing and contempt. Their violent auras were flickering as they their barely held rage kept them at bay, from attacking on instinct alone._

 _"Seitei...!" one growled darkly, his dark aura flickering so haphazardly. His one visible eye glowed with power and rage as he looked upon the other individual who could match him like no other possibly could._

 _"It comes down to this does it Hakai?" the other asked, his voice filled with calmness, but his features told a different story; one long scar running down his left eye down to his chin. Hakai glanced at the now-white eye that came as a result and scowled._

 _"Does it fill you with such hatred to see me here?" Seisei asked. "That only I match your power... the power of a god." He punctuated his sentence as his white aura came to focus that any mortal may have well been blinded if they so much as looked at him._

 _The only response he received was his brother's own aura came to life; Two long black and gray Zanbatou blades coming to life on his shoulders, their handles linked with a chain. Seitei's frown deepened and his own weapons, his Gunbai and Magatama, flared into being._

 _All was silent until a resounding clang came to being and the valley they stood in was destroyed in an instant._

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen was a leader in every sense of the word. He was renowned as the Kami no Shinobi, the Professor, sensei to the Densetsu no Sanin. However, none of those compared to what he felt right at the moment.

Old. And tired,

'Minato... had you lived, what would you have done?' he thought with forlonging sadness as he gazed at both his successor and predecessor's picture along side three others, one being his own. Hiruzen sighed and turned to rest his gaze out onto his beloved village.

'A sinful village; but my village nonetheless,' Hiruzen pondered with sorrow, a hint of anger somewhere in his thoughts. 'I sometimes wonder if this village was worth saving Minato... was your life really needed to save these ungrateful and foolish people?'

He chuckled sadly at the irony of his words. 'I suppose if they are fools, then I myself am a bigger fool; a fool who has tried to fix everything he has done wrong.'

 _'Who is more foolish, the fool; or the fools who follow him?'_

* * *

 _"What is this?"_

 _Across his table were his advisers in the council: Mitakado Homura, Utatane Koharu and Shimura Danzo. All three gazed at him with unwavering will, their own clashing with his._

 _"You know what's bound to happen Hiruzen," Koharu voiced, her voice firm and steady in the face of her leader. "Everything has been crumbling down ever since the Yondaime passed on,"_

 _"I agree with Koharu," said Homura. "We have lost more than a quarter of our forces in the Kyuubi attack, most of which were our most reliable and capable shinobi. Our economy has started to decline with all the rehabilitation and reconstruction of everything that was destroyed. You might be Hokage Hiruzen, but admit to yourself that you cannot replace those who we have lost. Not in this state,"_

 _Hiruzen silently gave-in with great reluctance. Twenty years ago, he may have been able to defeat entire armies by himself; but his time was long since passed. He was no longer as strong as he used to be, that he knew very well; a fact he was constantly reminded of whenever he looked through his crystal ball and saw what had become of his successor's legacy._

 _'Kami no Shinobi indeed...'_

 _Hiruzen glanced at his former best friend, Shimura Danzo, the one-eyed warhawk. A silent conversation seemingly going on between the two of them, as if their thoughts were being read by the other. As long as he could remember, Danzo had always been at odds with him, even during their Genin days. Something that seemed to escalate when he was chosen as the Sandaime Hokage by the Nidaime, Senju Tobirama, instead. Though that escalation seemed to erupt into a cold war between them, to the point that Danzo had gained the moniker that often came associated with his; Yami no Shinobi._

 _His opposite. And as much as he disliked to admit it, his equal. Not so much in terms of pure power, no, he had long surpassed Danzo in that area. but in terms of brain power and political clout, that much was a different story._

 _"As much as it infuriates me to admit it Hiruzen, we all know we are no longer the strongest of the nations," said Danzo, earning wide-eyed stares from even the hidden Anbu in return. He gave a short-lived glare._

 _"My sources have long since been informing me of the state of the other nations; Iwa's condition especially."Danzo continued. "Onoki, the sly bastard that he is, has been itching to remove us from the equation ever since the Yondaime died. We barely have enough shinobi to patrol our borders, and at the same time send on different simultaneous missions. Our Academy has fallen from grace from its high standard to the utter piece of garbage that we have now, if the number of civillians who managed to pass is any indication. Our Jinchuuriki-"_

 _Hiruzen gave a harsh glare filled with unbriddled fury, as if daring Danzo to continue; one which said warhawk returned with one of his own but seemed to understand the message. That law was placed for a good reason; not that it did any good. It just seemed to make things worse._

 _'Yet another thing to add to my list of mistakes,'_

 _"Our Jinchuuriki is a joke." said the old warhawk. "All that keeps the nations at bay is our alliance with Sunagakure, something that will be as useful as a blunt kunai the moment a real war breaks out. At that point, most of our shinobi would be useful as only cannon-fodder,"_

 _Root went unsaid, but Hiruzen knew that was the underlying message in Danzo's words. Despite initial orders to disband Root, Hiruzen knew the damn warhawk still kept it running, went underground so to speak, even if the pun was done to death. Though inside, he was caving in despite his facade and outward composure._

 _His shortcomings had just been bluntly pointed out, and it hurt his pride. Add to the fact that the shortcomings of the subordinates were the mistakes of the leader as well. All it took was the three people who were partly responsible for the village's own fall to recognize their own shortcomings and state it right in-front of him. A part of him knew they were right, however another part was arguing, stating the ulterior motives behind this little spectacle they had performed._

 _He settled for a sigh. "What would you have me do?" he asked, a hint of anger creeping into his voice. "I can't change the past, nor can I tell the future."_

 _"But if we can change the present, then we dictate the future," said Koharu, her voice filled with such confidence that it was oozing. Hiruzen in the back of his mind, remembered his old teammate was always well-read. Most likely, a book or a scroll that she had read somewhere..._

 _"Do you think its easy being Hokage?" growled Hiruzen, a little bit of his KI leaking out. It unnerved some of the Anbu; the elders, to their credit, didn't even bat an eyelash. They were used to his Killing Intent during the regular, and the sometimes not so regular council meetings. "It's hard to make changes if the people refuse to change themselves; change starts from within. You can't just force that to happen with a snap,"_

 _"We have acknowledged our mistakes Hiruzen, whatever they may be." said Danzo, his gaze unblinking. "All we want is for you to stop acting like your age and act like the Hokage."_

 _Hiruzen subtly leaked more of his KI to the point his Anbu were having trouble breathing, the elders feeling a shiver crawl down their spines. "Are you challenging me Danzo?" the Sandaime growled._

 _"I do not," said the elder. "I just want you to show us that Will of Fire that you believed in so much. I don't put much thought into it, but change and discipline starts from the top."_

 _Hiruzen felt a hint of surprise at his former comrade's statement. Danzo had always been an avid believer of 'Might Makes Right' concept, so his acknowledgement of the Will of Fire, and even using it in a sentence, was a big thing indeed. That was always the reason of feuds between them, the end justified the means. Danzo had always believed that shinobi were tools that just needed to follow orders and never question them._

 _'The reason why you were not chosen as Hokage my friend...'_

 _"Then what should I do?" he asked, his tone changing. His voice as if asking them a challenge "I have tried my best, and even then it was not good enough,"_

 _His response was a scroll on his desk. On it, to his eternal surprise, was the symbol of Uzushiogakure._

 _He blinked in not-so-subtle surprise. "What is this suppose to be?" he questioned, the Hokage's voice unwavering._

 _"Everything,"_

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 **AN: Well, that's it for now! Don't worry, chapters will get longer eventually!**


	3. Prologue (Part 2)

**Well, I hope this was worth the wait. I wanted to make it up to everybody who viewed this story and waited for an update these past months. Here's Chapter 3! Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. All rights go to Masashi Kisimoto.**

* * *

" _Gomen'nasai… I must have made you worry,"_

 _The voice came out weaker than it was supposed to be, more of a silent whisper that could be carried off into the wind._

 _Tear-stained silver eyes seemed to burrow down into his, a guilt ridden expression etched across his already blood-smeared and tear-tracked face. Rain continued to pour down and soaked their figures, the once solid ground beneath them slowly becoming mud._

 _"Usuratonkachi! Baka!" he breathed with worry. "Don't speak, refrain from moving or talking." He quickly picked him up in his arms, jumped, and carried him into the tree-line, leaping across multiple branches_

 _"I feel cold…" came out the soft whisper again. He could see a small mist of breath form in front of him as he spoke._

 _He could see the man's eyes widen. "You'll be fine," he spoke, seemingly trying to reassure not just him but himself as well. "It's just the rain. You'll be fine, just preserve your energy."_

 _The man quickened his pace, quickly jumping across the trees, breaking several tree branches in his quickened pace._

 _"I can see the town!" he cried. "We're almost there! Just keep your eyes open Haru!"_

 _He breathed a small chuckle. "Arigatou…" he said._

 _A dainty, blood stained hand reached up and touched the man's face. He could feel a smile forming on his face, his vision quickly darkening as he did so._

 _"Yuruse Takeshi-kun... mata kondo da..._ _._ _ **(1)** "_

 _The hand fell limp, trailing down Takeshi's face, leaving a small trail of blood and all went black._

* * *

Naruto gritted his teeth as his head throbbed, holding back the urge to scream in the middle of one of Iruka-sensei's lecture.

'Not again!' he internally thought in anger.

The rest of the class didn't seem to notice, either that, or they noticed but they didn't care enough to ask why. It had always been a common occurrence in classes that he would cry out in anguish or grit in frustration when he couldn't understand a lecture, or perform a task; whether to throw a kunai or make a bunshin.

Even Iruka didn't seem to notice; he just kept on his lectures, reading from the handbook and from his personal experience, writing down every theory that they were studying. The exams were only a few weeks a way after all,

Naruto's head throbbed again as he nearly collapsed on the spot. He had been experiencing these attacks for the past few days. He would seize up at random points of the day, sometimes even hours at a time, and then come back into focus just to clutch his head and cry out in pain. It had happened at one point in the Hokage's office when he was visiting Hokage-jiji. He spaced out for a few minutes, saw another set of images that he couldn't understand, and then cried out in pain; surprising the old Hokage who quickly rushed over to him and worriedly asked what was wrong.

Naruto couldn't reply at that time, so the Hokage quickly picked him up and Shunshin'ed him into the hospital, quickly asking for a doctor at the help desk. The nurse on duty at that time glanced at him and seemed to sneer before calling up a doctor, informing him of the situation. The doctor hurriedly came-by, seemingly unhappy with what he was tasked to do.

The doctor later checked him out, stating that there was nothing seriously wrong with him, just mild nausea and migraine, a factor that could be applied as he ate too much ramen the morning before. The doctor then told him that he should just avoid eating too much ramen, and gave him some medicine, some aspirin, which would help take the migraine away. **(2)**

He thanked the doctor and went on his way back to his apartment, accompanied by the Hokage. Upon reaching his room, the Sandaime told him to rest, which meant no training, to take the medicine after eating dinner and before going to bed, and not to stress himself out too much and left back for the Hokage Tower. Naruto did as he said.

Luckily, the bell rang right at that moment, much to Naruto's relief as the ringing of the bell seemed to make the ringing and throbbing of his head go away.

Iruka closed his book and addressed the class. "Well, I guess that's it for today," he said, his eyebrow suddenly twitching as he saw multiple students with their heads down on the desk and snoozing away into dreamland. Why those ungrateful little brats...

He quickly performed a handseal. Most of the students who were awake quickly pulled out their earplugs and plugged their ears shut. "WAKE UP YOU BRATS!" he yelled using his trade-mark Big-Head no Jutsu, patent pending. The result was multiple of the snoozing students yelped and fell out of their chairs, much to the amusement of most of the class.

Iruka took a breather, reigning in his temper, and continued. "Alright, assignment is an essay on Jutsu Theory and it's practical applications with examples due on my desk by tomorrow after lunch." The class stood. "Class dismissed!"

Quicker than the Yondaime using his Hiraishin no Jutsu, multiple students disappeared from their seats, heading for home at a breakneck speed. Some of the more patient ones quietly packed their bag and quietly left the classroom, some departing with an "Arigatou Iruka-sensei,".

Iruka noticed a mop of blond hair walk up to him and smiled. "Hey Naruto, how've you been?" he said, rubbing his pseudo-brother's head in an affectionate manner.

The blond quickly swatted away his teacher's hand, much to Iruka's amusement and grinned. "Doing great Iruka-sensei! Nothing less should be expected from the Godaime Hokage-to-be!"

The-scar nosed teacher laughed.

"I hope so Naruto!" he said, mirth obviously present in his voice.

The blond suddenly looked unsure, much to Iruka's bewilderment. The little Kyuubi-container had always been a happy-go-lucky kind of person who sought out attention that he sorely lacked from much isolation from the general populace of the village in the form of his pranks.

When he was first assigned to the class that to his knowledge contained the Jinchuuriki, he quickly summoned all his hate and sought to make the Kyuubi container's life a living hell while he was in his class, much like many had done before him.

However, much to his utter amazement, he could not bring himself to do it. He found himself laughing most of the time whenever the little ball of energy would pull a prank, or act like a class clown just to incite laughter from everyone else, even if it was at his own expense. He would even offer to devote his extra hours to extra training for the blonde to catch up on his theoretical and practical work in class. And he knew why,

Whenever Iruka saw Naruto, he saw himself. The same drive; the wanting to prove oneself not to just everyone but himself as well and the striving to gain the approval of everyone in the village. The same dreams...

So to see Naruto look unsure, had Iruka in a bit of an alarm.

"Hey... Iruka-sensei?"

"Yes Naruto?" he replied.

"Why do people risk their lives for the sake of others?"

The academy teacher smiled at his student's question.

"Because that's what makes us human Naruto," he answered in melancholy. "We might be shinobi, but we all have someone we want to protect; to make sure that they stay safe and unharmed at the expense of our own. And sometimes, the needs of many, outweigh the needs of a few. It's like what all parents do for their children, they sometimes work themselves into exhaustion so that they can be assured that their children have a future to look forward too."

Naruto nodded in understanding. "How about you Iruka-sensei? Do you have someone like that?"

Iruka grinned at the blond. "I have you don't I?" he asked teasingly.

Naruto whined. "Iruka-sensei!"

The scar-nosed teacher erupted into laughter and patted the blond. "Naruto, how about some ramen? My treat."

The unknowing Jinchuuriki grinned. "Alright! The best ramen is free ramen!" He yelled. "To Ichiraku's we go!"

Teacher and student walked side-by-side, both having gone through the same experiences, albeit one worse than the other. There was an understanding between them, a bond that could not be broken.

The teacher glanced at Naruto and thought solemnly 'I will protect you Otouto, like I do for all the people I cherish. Because that's my shinobi way...'

* * *

 **And there we go! Done! I just hope you guys liked the chapter! Please leave a review.**

 **1) Direct translation: "Forgive me Takeshi... next time okay?"**

 **2) Migraines are caused by processed food most of the time, and with the amount of cup ramen that Naruto eats, it's a wonder that he doesn't get mignraines.**


	4. Chapter 1: Beginnings

**Well, here's Chapter 1 of the story of Destinies! I do so hope you all enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. All rights go toMasashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

 _All one could see was a sea of barren land, untouched by rain, and ungraced by life for a long millenia stretching as far as the eye could survey. Impossibly, from that barren land sprouted a sapling that grew into a majestic tree that reached the heavens. Its roots as thick as a hill, stretching as far as a mountain a range and its branches as sturdy as stone, a small fruit bearing upon the highest of the branches. Soon after, life started to bloom onto the barren wasteland._

 _There, three birds came to rest. One was of majestic white and blue plumage with hints of green which made it's home on the highest branches of the tree, setting itself a nest in which to rest. The second bird came to rest upon the lowest of the branches, this one was black, gray and white in its coloration; it's home closer to the ground so as to strike and grab its prey that would lie on the ground all the quicker. The third bird made it's home in the middle branches of the tree, it's home hidden amongst he foliage. The bird was colored red, black and gold in its plumage. Over time, the birds would come to slowly absorb the inherent enerygy that was produced by the great tree._

 _Years passed and eventually, man made its way into the land; settling themselves upon it, but never daring to approach the great tree which they would eventually come to call and worship as the Shinju Tree. It was thought to be a pillar to heavens and that any that came close to the tree would shrivel and die like a sapling would in the greatest desert. Eventually, violence and war made its presence felt on Earth and man was quick to answer it's call. The dirtied and shed blood of man seeped into the ground and deep into the Earth, which greatly upset the balance of which everything was made. Of course, man paid no heed to the foreboding warnings that greater beings had given and continued on in their slaughter._

 _Soon, a young woman dared herself to venture to the tree, seeking peace and sought to end the bloodshed that mankind had dawned on itself. Her eyes and heart set on the Forbidden Fruit that rested amongst the top most branches of the Shinju Tree, one that was said to bear great power and yet was forbidden by mortals to touch and consume. She quickly offered a prayer to the gods to give her their blessings and started her venture to the top of the tree, her prayer unknowingly being heard._

 _Apart from the Shinju Tree, mankind also came to respect and fear three more godlike beings that came into existence. These beings were called the Sora no Kamigami **(1)** ; one of which was Eisei **(2)** , the bird of life and ceation who sat atop the Shinju Tree, a creature who would later become associated with Luck and Victory; Eisei was worshipped greatly by mankind. It was said that if one received a feather from it, that person would gain eternal life. It's symbol was water, meaning purity and was associated with springtime._

 _The next was Zetsumei **(3)** the Harbinger of Death and Destruction. Zetsumei was said to bring famine, disease and death wherever it went, making sure that all who fell in its wake died soon after. It was said that if one had the misfortune of seeing the Bird of Death, said person was to die in twenty-four hours. Zetsumei's symbol was steel meaning cold and unforgiving and it was associated with winter time. It was also related with Loss, Misery and Suffering. Zetsumei lived amongst the lower branches and quickly took the life of any who dared near the tree._

 _The last was Fukkatsu **(4)** who was the Bird of Rebirth, Order and Chaos. Fukkatsu was said to bring either harmonious order or dastardly chaos to wherever it appeared, and was seen as a messanger or warning of fortunes or hardships that were to surely come. Out of the three, Fukkatsu was seen the most. It was associated with Mid-summer and its symbol was fire meaning either something that could burn or something that could harm you as well._

 _Eisei heard the woman's wish and granted it. With a great screech, it left its perch and appeared next to the surprised woman and carried her to the top most of the tree with great speed and set her down upon the branch which was bellow the tree limb that held the Shinju's Forbidden Fruit. The woman, Kaguya, seemingly understood, reached up, and took the fruit from the tree's branch._

 _The Bird of Life watched as Kaguya consumed the fruit and then nothingness had occured._

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto jolted suddenly from his sleep on his bed with a start and gasped, clutching at his chest as he tried to regain his breathing.

'You have to be kidding me! Again?!' he thought with great irritation. 'Why do I keep getting these stupid dreams?!'

Though at the back of his mind, he somewhat knew these were different. Dreams were subconscious thoughts and images projected by one's brain, these felt too real. Memories almost, of a person who he never was and had never met.

Naruto looked at his alarm clock and to his surprise; read 6:30 am. He took a look outside his window and saw that indeed, the sun had yet to rise above the Hokage Mountain and its rays were just barely peeking out behind said fixture. He tiredly got up, yawning and stretching before erupting into a great big grin. He dashed into the bathroom, washing himself and putting on his beloved orange jumpsuit, before eating his breakfast that consisted of two cups of instant ramen and a glass of orange juice. He was about to take the milk that he had in the refrigerator but his keen sense of smell recoiled when he opened the milk carton to pour its contents into a glass. He glanced at the expiration date and sighed in relief before throwing the carton into the trash bin. He then wisely settled for a glass of orange juice instead.

'Today's graduation day!' he thought with much anticipation as he stepped out of his apartment, locking the door behind him and making his way to the Academy. He was finally gonna show the entire village who Uzumaki Naruto was, get a date with Sakura-chan, and beat the teme Sasuke!

'I'll show 'em!" he grinned at the thought. 'I'm gonna be Hokage, dattebayo! And nothing's getting in my way!'

* * *

He was rather early at the Academy, only two other were in the classroom before he was. He internally growled as he saw Uchiha Sasuke, his rival, sitting in his usual seat near the window; brooding away without a care in the world.

'Heh,' he internally reminisced. 'I'll show him who's the best!'

With a great desire to be as far away from the last Uchiha as possible, Naruto chose to sit at the back of the class. Within minutes, with his head down on the desk, he promptly dozed off into dream land.

...

Naruto was suddenly woken in his seat as he heard the door suddenly slam open with a loud bang. Quickly regaining his bearings, he saw the blonde Yamanaka Ino and his crush, the pink haired Haruno Sakura arguing at the door, their foreheads clashing with one another, their eyes ablaze with fury.

"I got here first Ino-butta! I get to sit next to Sasuke-kun!" the pink haired kunoichi yelled.

"In your dreams Dekorin! **(5)** " the platinum blonde refuted. "As you can see, your foot is fifteen milimeters-short from mine!"

From where Nara Shikamaru sat, he raised his head, took one glance out of curiosity, and set his head down again.

'I don't see it...' he winced at the loud shrieking contest that seemed to have no apparent winner. 'Mendokusai...' Shikamaru tilted his head slightly and saw the Uchiha seemingly grunt. At least they appeared to share the same sentiment...

Naruto grinned. "Hey Sakura-chan!" he exclaimed cheerfully. "You can have the seat next to mine!"

Sakura froze and looked at him with a murderous glare. "Shut it, Naruto-baka!" she screeched. "This has nothing to do with you!"

Naruto glumly sunk back down into his seat.

Thankfully before the screeching match could continue, a small cough interrupted; both kunoichi blinked and turned their heads. Standing behind them was their sensei Umino Iruka with a twitching eye, and his assistant, Mizuki, who was currently wincing and rubbing his ears. Both Ino and Sakura yelped before jumping back, and bowing their heads in fear.

"Gomen'nasai sensei!" they yelled.

Iruka sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "What am I gonna do with you..." he irritatingly asked.

'Why not gag them?' was the consecutive thought that ran amok across many of the minds of the students in the classroom, and, surprisingly, even the assistant Mizuki's. The thought even lingered in Iruka's mind before being shoved away.

"Ino, Sakura, take a look at the seat beside Sasuke," Iruka managed to breath out. "It's occupied..."

To their credit, they actually did look and saw that someone had indeed occupied the _only_ seat next to their precious Sasuke. The poor civillian student seemed to shrink in his seat as the heated glares poured off of Ino and Sakura aimed right at him.

Many males in the class prayed to any deity that would listen for their fellow male's safety, and possibly, masculinity...

Muttering their apologizes, Ino and Sakura sulked off and took the seats in the middle of the room, but not before shooting one dark glare each at the student who had taken what they believed to be their rightful seat. Iruka gave one last sigh before he entered the room.

"Alright everyone," he said, calling out to every student. "You've all worked hard to get here and now is your chance to prove why you are deserving of these hitai-ate, and of the title of Konoha shinobi,"

* * *

Naruto screwed his eyes as he gazed at the written exam that was laid out in-front of him. He was focusing all his mental effort to remember everything that he had read and learned from Iruka. He poured over the answers, making sure that all his efforts had not been for naught and making sure that every answer was perfect and spot-on.

Theoretical work had never been his forte. He was a learner by practical application, and had trouble glossing over and remembering over half of what he read in a textbook or a scroll over 30-minutes ago. However, give him a task which focused on actually doing something and a few tries, he would get it down eventually; and at a rapid pace as well.

By the time the blond had finished, he looked at the timer on the teacher's desk and saw that he had a mere five minutes left for the exam.

'Just barely too!' he thought in relief. He glanced over at Sakura and saw that she had already long-since finished her test, not that it was any surprise; she was arguably the smartest of their year. He switched gazes and saw, much to his pride and ire, that Sasuke had already started brooding, and apparently had been for a while, if the untouched pen on his desk was any indication.

He clenched his fist tightly. 'I'll show you teme...!'

The timer suddenly rang, signaling the end of the written portion of the exam earning many groans and yelps of anguish and panic from many students. Unfortunately, Iruka was not willing to give extensions as 'Rules were rules,' and had them all pass the exam which Mizuki collected.

Naruto sighed out-loud in relief, confident in his answers as they were all told to move outside for the practical part of the exam. Quickly joining the others, Naruto rushed over hoping to discuss answers with Sakura.

* * *

They all arrived at the kunai target practice area and Naruto took care to notice a crate full of real kunai and shuriken, unlike the practice ones that they were trained with, next to Iruka; said scar-nosed teacher turning to them and spoke.

"Alright, here's how this is going to work," Iruka explained, a clipboard at the ready in his hand. "Each of you will get ten shuriken and ten kunai each from this crate and aim for the bullseye on the target. For every hit on the outermost ring, you get a mark of seventy-five, the second outermost merits an eigthy percent. The third ring earns you a mark of eighty-six and the last ring earns you an even ninety-six. Naturally, landing a bullseye will earn you a hundred and and missing the target entirely will get you a score of sixty-five and your final score will be averaged for your final score on the practical exam."

All the students nodded in understanding.

"Okay, we'll do this in alphabetical order," Iruka said, his voice washing over all the soon-to-be shinobi. "First up is Akihira Kazuto!"

Naruto watched intently as every student took their turn in throwing their own kunai and shuriken onto the target, with Iruka writing down the appropriate mark for their performance, Mizuki assisting by giving his own pointers and hints for improvement along with his own assessment. The benefit to watching others make their own mistakes was that you knew what to improve in your own technique in-order to gain the upper hand, and not repeat the same mistake. It was a slightly underhanded tactic but playing dirty was part of the way of the shinobi after all; and Naruto had plenty of time to watch and change tactics as he was to be the second last in class to be called, right after Uchiha Sasuke and before Yamanaka Ino.

He watched as several of the civillian-born students get their turn and either their weapon landing in the outer most, or third outer most ring, with one or two getting lucky and hitting near the bullseye. The clan born, however, were a different story. Most accomplished the task with expertise ease, others better than most. Naruto knew that the level of training that civillians and the clan born was different, it was still an unprecedentedly huge gap.

Aburame Shino managed to hit eight out of ten, most managing to land on the innermost rings, earning a nod of approval from Iruka. Next of the clan heirs was Akimichi Choji who scored an even seven out of ten on his turn. Following Choji was Hyuuga Hinata who, despite her awkwardness and shy tendencies, surprised everyone by getting a nine out of ten; though, it was of course naturally to be expected from a clan heir. Next was Inuzuka Kiba who scored a good eight of ten. Nara Shikamaru got a barely passing mark of seven out of ten, stating that it was "too troublesome," to try and get the perfect mark. Following the lazy clan heir was Uchiha Sasuke who got a consistent ten out of ten, much to the delight of his fangirls, to which he responded with the Uchiha trademark "Hn,". Although she wasn't clan bor, Naruto also took notice of Haruno Sakura who got a score of eight out of ten.

"Uzumaki Naruto!"

Naruto was shaken out of his musings and stepped forward for his part of the exam. He grabbed ten shuriken and kunai from the crate, setting the weapons out in-front of him. He took five kunai in each hand, and let them fly towards their target.

 _Thunk!_

Naruto looked and was relieved to see that he most likely got an eight out of ten for the shuriken; he saw Iruka nod with approval and write down his score, motioning for him to continue on with the shuriken. Naruto did so with great enthusiasm and did the same with the shuriken as he did with the kunai.

 _Thunk!_

The blond grinned as the four-point stars made their mark; a good nine out of ten, the scores of Uchiha Sasuke forgotten in his delight. Iruka smiled before taking down his score and motioning for him to step back for another to get their turn, something he glowingly did so.

Yamanaka Ino went last and she got the same score as Sakura, much to said girl's ire and to Ino's eternal delight and yet as she said "misfortune," as she had not shown Sasuke who the better kunoichi between them was.

Iruka, after finishing with the score, clapped his hands. "Alright, since we're done here; we're moving back to the classroom for the Jutsu portion of the exam. Everyone will go into the room next to it and perform three of the necessary Academy Jutsu to pass and you will earn your hitai-ate."

Naruto felt a chill go down his spine. It was the final test and he was not gonna fail it!

* * *

The blond Jinchuuriki watched from his seat as every student left the classroom for the one next to it, and return with big grins on their faces and with a new shiny hitai-ate somewhere on their person, with some being unfortunate enough to return with their hopes dashed and come out empty handed.

Naruto then heard his name get called and hurried into the next room for his turn in the exam. As he entered, he saw Iruka and Mizuki behind a desk, and a chair in the middle of the room right in front of them. Iruka turned to him.

"Alright Naruto," he said, overlooking from his clipboard. "Here's how this works. We'll ask you to perform the three necessary Jutsu in-front of us and, for bonus merit, you can show your own justu."

Naruto nodded.

"Alright, let's begin." Iruka said, looking at him clearly. "First: Henge no Jutsu,"

Naruto nodded, focusing his chakra, and performed the three needed handseals for the technique. In a cloud of smoke, in Naruto's place was the perfect replica of the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. Iruka, if he didn't know this was a test, would have stood up and saluted the Sandaime and nodded in his approval of the Henge and saw that it was very detailed, including the liver spots on the Hokage's elderly face.

"Okay, Naruto dispel the Henge then perform the Kawarimi with the chair in-front of us."

The Sandaime-look alike nodded and in a poof of smoke, Naruto had returned and with a quick set of handseals, the chair stood in his place. Naruto had a huge grin on his face from where he now stood in-front of the teachers. Iruka wrote down the score.

"Last, Bunshin no Jutsu."

Naruto inwardly gulped but did as ordered. The Bunshin was always his worst technique, and he detested that he couldn't get such a simple jutsu right no matter how much he tried. They always came out looking dead; he prayed to Kami that it would all work out.

He formed the handseals. "Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Three puffs of smoke and there appeared three sickly- almost dead- clones, which in all honesty didn't surprise Naruto, but made him quite upset. Iruka frowned and wrote down the score.

"I'm sorry Naruto, the Bunshin is necessary for graduation. You fail," the teacher said, much to Naruto's great displeasure and dismay.

"Come on Iruka," said Mizuki, patting his friend on the shoulder. "He managed to perform the technique anyway, why not let it go?"

Iruka shook his head. "I'm sorry but rules are rules; you can go now Naruto."

The blond slowly nodded, fighting back the tears that threatened to escape him. Crying never solved anything; he wasn't about to start it right now, even if he did fail the exam and being a shinobi was part of his dream. He left the room empty handed and only, carrying broken dreams along with him.

 _"No one would let you become Hokage!"_

* * *

The blond Jinchuuriki sat on the swing underneath the shade of the tree that sat on the grounds of the Academy, sadly watching as parents arrived to fetch their children and the children showing off their new hitai-ate.

 _It's not fair!_

He looked on as some of the parents looked at him and noticed the lack of a hitai-ate, earning a nod of satisfaction.

 _I have to be Hokage..._

"Hey Naruto," a voice called to him.

Naruto shook himself out of his self-wallowing and looked for the source of the voice and saw that Mizuki stood next to him.

"You okay?"

Naruto nodded. "I'm fine," he bit out.

"Don't be too harsh on Iruka," the white haired shinobi said. "He would have given you the chance if the orders didn't come from the Hokage himself."

"I know but..." Naruto strained out. "How can I be Hokage if I can't even perform a simple Jutsu?"

The shinobi smiled at him. "Hey Naruto, what if I told you that there is a Secret Exam that is handed out to failing students that allows them to become Genin?"

Naruto's eyes widened and he quickly turned to his teacher. "Really?"

The white-haired assistant nodded. "You're quite lucky I know about this, and I told you instead of anyone else. You have more potential than they do anyway; believe me, I know. **(6)** "

The blond Jinchuuriki gained a hardened look in his eyes. "What do I have to do?"

 _Hook. Line. and Sinker._

* * *

The blond grinned as he unraveled the Forbidden Scroll that he managed to grab from the Hokage's office.

'Heh, I can't believe Jiji fell for that Jutsu!' Naruto internally laughed, the picture of a Hokage flying back with a giant nosebleed from seeing his Orioke no Jutsu etched into his mind. 'The closet pervert!'

"Alright, time to pass that make-up exam..."

 _"All you have to do is steal a giant scroll filled with Jutsu from the Hokage''s Vault without being noticed, bring it to training ground five and learn one jutsu from the scroll in an hour and you pass!"_

 ** _Timeskip: One Hour_**

'Heh!' Naruto grinned with satisfaction. 'I did it! I learned the Kage Bunshin! Nothing's going to stop me from becoming Hokage now!'

"Naruto...?"

The Jinchuuriki turned and grinned upon seeing his teacher and pseudo brother walk-up to him.

"What are you doing here?"

The blond grinned at his sensei. "I did as Mizuki-sensei said. It's so that I can pass the make-up exam!"

 _'Mizuki?!'_

A faint whirling made it's way into Iruka's ears. _Shuriken!_

"Naruto, duck!"

The blonde quickly did so as not a second later three shuriken embedded themselves onto the tree bark where Naruto previously stood, startling the orange-clad Jinchuuriki.

"Way to ruin the moment Iruka," a voice chided. Mizuki appeared from the cover of the foliage, the darkness of the night seemed to make him more sinister.

"I was hoping to just end this quickly without having to kill anyone else, but of course, you go and ruin my fun like always!" Mizuki chided once more.

"Mizuki, what have you done?!"

"Huh? Iruka-sensei? Mizuki-sensei? What's going on?" the blond asked in evident surprise from where he was on the ground.

Iruka quickly turned to Naruto and yelled "Naruto get out of here! Mizuki's a traitor! Don't let him take the Forbidden Scroll!"

"Now now Iruka, I'm not the only one who has betrayed the trust given to them," Mizuki teased, a menacing tone present in his voice. "I mean, you do know what lies inside the boy do you not?"

Iruka's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "Mizuki, you can't! It's forbidden!"

The traitor merely laughed. "Good thing I'm no longer bound by Konoha's law, ne?" The snowy-haired shinobi then turned his attention to Naruto.

"Naruto, do you know why the people hate you?"

The blonde shook. "No, why?"

"Do you remember what happened the night of the first of October?"

"Yeah, the Yondaime sacrificed his life to kill the Kyuubi no Yoko to save the village," the blonde answered with confusion. "But what does have to do with anything?"

Iruka snarled. "Mizuki, shut up or I'll make you!"

"You can't stop me Iruka, that thing deserves to al least know it's true origins," Mizuki countered. "Naruto, it was all a lie. A law was placed by the Sandaime to keep you in the dark of the events that occurred that night. You see, the Yondaime didn't kill the Kyuubi; he sealed it into human form so that it would be considerably weakened and be easy to finish off!"

The blonde was rattling in fear. "W-What...? So I'm..."

The traitor laughed darkly. "Yes Naruto! You are the Kyuubi no Yoko!"

* * *

"Naruto, run... I'll hold off Mizuki so that you can deliver the Forbidden Scroll to the Hokage," Iruka coughed up a bit of blood as Naruto looked at the Fuma Shuriken that had embedded itself into his teacher's back; thrown by the white-haired traitor Mizuki in their fight.

"Iruka-sensei..."

Mizuki scoffed. "Really Iruka? You're still protecting that thing? You know you hate it as much as I do! It took away your parents for Kami's sake!."

Iruka fought back the urge to collapse. "Yes, I hate the Kyuubi no Yoko..."

Naruto looked at Iruka with betrayal seen in his eyes, and a great magnitude of fear.

The teacher smiled and looked at Naruto warmly. "But he's not the Kyuubi. He's Uzumaki Naruto, my student, the future Hokage of Konoha!" he proclaimed with pride and joy, despite his overwhelming pain. "And my Otouto..."

"You are a bigger fool than I anticipated Iruka; but a stubborn fool who refuses to stand aside and die nonetheless." Mizuki spat, grapping the another Fuma Shuriken on his back.

"NOW DIE!" He threw the giant shuriken, the blades spinning menacingly as it flew through the air, aimed right at the scar-nosed teacher.

 _KLANG!_

To Mizuki's utter enragement and confusement, the Fuma Shuriken suddenly halted in mid-air, a mere few feet away from Iruka, and seemed to be forcing itself against a barrier that it could not pierce, sparks of metal flying of the collision before the shuriken lost its momentum and collapsed onto the ground.

"You hurt Iruka-sensei... my nii-san..."

Both shinobi looked towards the blond Jinchuuriki who looked at Mizuki with a menacing look present in his eyes.

"You'll pay!"

He formed a cross-shaped handseal.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Everything was suddenly covered as a huge cloud of smoke erupted before them. When it dissipated, there were, to their awe and surprise, multiple Narutos lining the tree line and surrounding Iruka in a protective barrier.

"Get 'im!" one of the clones yelled and in a simultaneous motion, they all charged.

In a comical fashion, Mizuki let out a high-pitched squeal and was suddenly buried in an orange dogpile of Naruto's who were all punching and kicking away at the white-haired traitor with obvious glee.

Naruto looked at Iruka with a solemn look in his eyes. "I'm sorry Iruka-sensei, I understand what I did wrong and if you scold and turn me in for it."

Iruka chuckled. "Naruto, close your eyes."

With much confusement, Naruto did so. Within seconds, he felt a soft fabric being tied to his forehead.

"Open your eyes,"

When he did, Naruto was shocked to see that Iruka no longer wore his hitai-ate and looked to his own forehead and saw that the missing hitai-ate now rested upon his own.

"Iruka-nii-san..."

Iruka smiled warmly, even when a trickle of blood fell from his lips. "Uzumaki Naruto, it is with great pride and honor that I pronounce you as a fully fledged Konoha shinobi!"

The blond looked ready to tackle him into a hug. "Iruka-sensei!"

"Not now Naruto! I'm injured and I don't want it getting any worse!"

"Whoops, my bad Iruka-sensei." the blonde apologized.

Iruka gave a sigh. "Let's bring the Forbidden Scroll back to the Hokage Tower, okay Naruto? After I get some medication..."

The blond Jinchuuriki grinned. "Sure thing Iruka-sensei! I'll carry the scroll so that you can rest!"

"...Thanks Naruto,"

They failed to notice a small black flower come into full bloom on the forest floor.

* * *

 **(Iwagakure no Sato, same time period)**

"Heh," the Tsuchikage grinned at the scroll that was laid out in-front of him. "So the Raikage failed to get the Byakugan and wants to get even with Konoha by making an alliance with me?"

The BOLT Anbu that was kneeling down responded, "Hai Tsuchikage-sama,"

"Those tree huggers have always needed to be knocked down a peg or two!" Onoki laughed. "Where do I sign?"

* * *

 **AN: Well, that's Chapter 1 done, man am I tired. I probably won't update for a while again but I'm not sure yet as of now. Please review as it is greatly appreciated!**

 **1\. Sora no Kamigami - meaning Gods of the Sky**

 **2\. Eisei - means "Eternal Life", fitting for a creature of creation.**

 **3\. Zetsumei - means "End of Life",**

 **4\. Fukkatsu - means "To live again"**

 **5\. Dekorin - Billboard Brow, or Giant Forehead**

 **6\. Mizuki is referring to Naruto's naivety and closeness to the Hokage and does not mean Naruto's potential as a shinobi**


End file.
